PROVIDENCE — With the twin debacles of gubernatorial appointments of
U.S. Senators in Illinois and New York still fresh in the news,
Woonsocket state Rep. Chris Fierro wants to see Rhode Island hold
special elections to fill Senate vacancies.

Fierro-sponsored legislation to take the appointing power out of the
hands of the governor in Rhode Island was heard by the House Judiciary
Committee Wednesday.

The freshman lawmaker pointed to what he called
the “outright corrupt process” by which Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
attempted to fill the senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama and
the “equally flawed process” by which New York Gov. David Paterson
filled the seat left open by Sen. Hillary Clinton when she assumed the
office of Secretary of State as the rationale for filing his bill.

The
process for replacing a senator in his bill, Fierro testified, is
identical to the way a vacancy in a congressional seat would be filled.

There would be a special election to fill any vacancy that occurs before July 1 in a regular election year.

If the vacancy occurs after that, the seat will be filled during the November election that year.Matthew Sledge of the group Fair Vote RI told the committee that the bill “improves democracy."

“On
its face,” Sledge said, “it seems like a good idea to allow governors
to make a short, temporary appointment to fill a U.S. Senate seat, but
when you realize the 'golden opportunity' -- that's what Gov.
Blagojevich called it – for a governor to decide a state's senator, it
becomes less of a minor matter.

“In every case, senators should be elected,” Sledge asserted.

Sledge
noted that senators have been elected by popular vote since the 17th
Amendment was ratified in 1913. Prior to that, senators were elected by
state legislatures.

The Judiciary Committee voted to hold the bill
for further study. A similar bill was introduced in the General
Assembly last year, when there was speculation that Sen. Jack Reed
could be tapped for a spot in the Obama cabinet, but it did not pass.

Sledge
said Fair Vote also supported that measure, but “people didn't see the
pressing need for it.”

He said that often happens with election-related
bills. “People don't understand the need until some sort of controversy
has happened.”

But with the recent scandals in other states, he
said, “we can see that is never a good idea to strip away that power
from the people to elect a senator and give it to one person.

Sledge
said Rhode Island was fortunate in 1999 to get a “very qualified
appointment” when then-Gov. Lincoln Almond selected Lincoln Chafee to
succeed his father, Sen. John Chafee, who died in office. Since 1913,
he noted, 180 senators have been sworn in after being appointed, about
one-quarter of the total of new solons.

Fierro said “it shouldn't be one man's appointment whether they do it right or do it wrong. It belongs to the people.”

Asked about the prospects for a bill that failed to pass last year, Fierro said, “I feel good about it.”Nobody spoke in opposition to the measure.